Abstract:
Over the years much of the literature available all around the world, has
focused on using dance as a tool to correct some mobility issues in the development
of children and the benefits of music and dance to the growing child. In Ghana,
limited research has been done on the dance movements of children. The present
study adds to the growing body of literature on children's movement to music by
investigating the dance movements of Ghanaian preschoolers. It is believed that,
dancing not only allows for creativity in children and may also require little or no
supervision from caregivers. The study employed a two-phase exploratory mixed
method design. The first phase, which was qualitative in nature, employed content
analysis and observation to develop a protocol guide that was used in the second
phase to investigate the dance movements of the selected participants. The
population was drawn from Ghanaian preschoolers in the Effutu Municipality of
the Central Region of Ghana. The sample was taken from two (2) public and four
(4) private kindergarten schools within the capital of this municipality,
Winneba. The second phase was quantitative iri nature where 120 participants from
the six (6) schools were recorded dancing in the classroom to some selected
Ghanaian popular music excerpts. The study revealed that the older children had
improved dance movement responses than younger children; that there was no
statistically significant differences between the two genders and finally children in
private schools had more interesting dance movements than those in public schools.
